More Kids Have Accidentally Ingested Pot Products Since Recreational Use Became Legal in California: Officials

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Marijuana-laced gummy candies are seen in a file photo. (Credit: San Francisco Department of Public Health via CNN)

More Kids Have Accidentally Ingested Pot Products Since Recreational Use Became Legal in California: Officials

Marijuana-laced gummy candies are seen in a file photo. (Credit: San Francisco Department of Public Health via CNN)

State and local officials say they are alarmed by a spike in calls they have received to report children and teenagers ingesting marijuana products since California legalized cannabis for recreational use by adults in 2016.

The number of calls to poison control centers involving people 19 and younger who were exposed to marijuana has steadily risen from 347 three years ago to 588 last year. In the first six months of this year, there have been 386 calls to poison control centers involving marijuana exposure by underage people. If that trend continues, there could be more than double the reports in 2018 as there were 2015.

Nearly half of the calls received last year — 256 — involved children 5 and younger, including 38 children under 12 months old, and 64 toddlers who were a year old, according to Stuart E. Heard, executive director of the California Poison Control System.

“Parents and families should be aware that as marijuana becomes more and more available in various forms, it should be treated as any other potentially harmful product and be kept safely and securely away from children,” Heard said.